Review by Choice Review
Most of the text of this second edition is identical to that of the first (1996). Czaja and Blair have provided modest changes to account for the impact of new electronic possibilities (e.g., the Internet, cell phones, pagers, caller ID, laptop computers, personal digital assistants). Chapter 9, "Reducing Sources of Error in Data Collection," has the greatest amount of revision; chapters 3, 6, 8, and 10 have small additions. Chapter 9 has been reworked to include measures of survey quality, interviewer effects, and a consideration of e-mail versus Web data collection. The publisher indicates that the book is intended for use in undergraduate survey methods courses. As a text for juniors or seniors, this version, well written and easy to follow, would be very useful. The authors enlarge their consideration of computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) and computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). As before, chapter 3, "Selecting the Method for Data Collection," is perhaps the best; it now includes a section on Internet surveys. For first-time library purchases, this edition is recommended; libraries holding the first edition may choose not to acquire it since updates relating to new technologies have been widely reported elsewhere. ^BSumming Up: Optional. General readers; undergraduates. G. R. Walden Ohio State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review